Greek governor calls for state of emergency

A local governor wants the Greek government to declare a state of emergency to deal with the “huge humanitarian crisis” of thousands of migrants stranded at the border with Macedonia, the Associated Press reported Saturday.

Apostolos Tzitzikostas, governor of the Greek region of Central Macedonia, said around 13,000 people are trapped in the border town of Idomeni as Macedonia only allows a tiny number of Syrian and Iraqi asylum-seekers to cross onto its territory.

Tzitzikostas called on the EU “implement severe action against the countries that are closing borders.”

Member countries are scrambling to address the crisis at a summit in Brussels on Monday, as countries on the Western Balkans route towards Central and West Europe maintained tight border restrictions.

The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, issued a statement Friday, saying “Idomeni was never meant to be a long-term refugee reception center. Though UNHCR provides rub halls, refugee housing units and large tents, it is nowhere near enough for everyone…. Most people sleep in flimsy camping tents or out in the open, huddled under thick blankets.”

UNHCR said the Greek military plans three camps for a total of 12,500 people but that only one is currently underway.

“Some 35,000 men, women and children are now in Greece, needing shelter and assistance, and some 20,000 of these are now at Idomeni,” the agency said.